August 15, 2007

EDWARDS: The Packer Platform

The netroots faithful are lapping up John Edwards IA bus tour. MyDD's DesMoinesDem blogs: "Listening to John Edwards speak outside his Des Moines campaign headquarters yesterday, I was as proud as ever to support his candidacy. ... John Edwards is capable of not only turning progressive ideals into wonderful realistic plans, but he is also capable of advocating for them so that they become mainstream."

Also at MyDDNatasha Chart highlights Edwards 'rural strategy' which includes a ban on meat packer ownership of livestock. Chart explains: "The packer ban is a very important issues to rural districts where agriculture predominates, and [Sen. Paul Wellstone's] championing of it has been cited as one of the reasons why the very progressive Wellstone was able to draw on such a broad base of support."

EDWARDS II: Elizabeth Disenchantment Setting In

Elizabeth Edwards comments that, "We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman," continue to stir controversy in the netroots.

Jack and Jill Politics' rikyrah asked 8/11: "When hasn't this country elected a white male president? ... You'd think, reading the Esquire cover, that the last Four Presidents have been Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson with Condoleeza Rice in there for good measure.

Open Left's Matt Stoller later combined rikyrah's Edwards thought with a Mike Claufield Blue Hampshire post questioning the efficacy of Edwards messaging on poverty and wrote: "John Edwards is talking about poverty, but he's not talking to poor people. He may say that women's rights are related to economic issues, but Clinton is actually framing her arguments around language women use. Edwards is talking as a college educated white guy to other college educated white guys. It's the white man's burden, and while well-meaning, it's a little racist and annoying. I mean come on. There is no conspiracy to keep white men out of the Presidency."

This prompted and angry and highly commented on response by Daily Kos diarist David Mizner: "Matt Stoller's ... recent post ...is shoddy even for him. He accuses both John and Elizabeth Edwards of racism. ... To buttress his charge of racism, Stoller cites the remark made by Elizabeth Edwards. ... The comment made me cringe. Though factually defensible, it's stupid politically and in poor taste. But Stoller goes much farther. ... Does Stoller know what the word means? Does he really believe that the comment tells us that Elizabeth Edwards thinks poorly of black people? That she thinks they're inferior? It's no small thing, to accuse someone of racism, but Stoller, careless or clueless or both, throws the accusation around with abandon."

Claufield later defended his post from Mizner's attack at Blue Hampshire: "So, as you may know, David Mizner decided to misrepresent my diary on Edwards's "Poverty Platform" for lord knows what reason. His post was followed by approximately 400 comments which nicely excoriate me for a post that (judging from our site meter stats) none of them actually bothered to read."

Posted by Conn Carroll at August 15, 2007 12:54 PM